Named for the water lilies (“bonnets” in 19th century Florida) that once flourished in the freshwater marsh in front of this grand home, the 35 acres of tropical forest on which the Bonnet House was built was a gift from industrialist Hugh Taylor Birch to his daughter Helen and son-in-law Fredric Clay Bartlett, a noted artist.
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Directions
From Interstate 95, follow Sunrise Blvd east to Fort Lauderdale Beach. A mile past US 1, turn right across from Hugh Taylor Birch State Park and follow signs.
Overview
Location: Fort Lauderdale Beach
Entrance: 26.136518,-80.105573
Address: 900 N Birch Rd, Fort Lauderdale
Fees: $25 adults, $8 ages 6-17. Discounts for Broward residents and to just visit the gardens.
Restroom: Near the shop and cafe
Phone: 954-563-5393
Open Tue-Fri 11-3, Sat-Sun 11-4 for self-guided tours. Check website for guided tours. Closed Mondays, holidays, and during the Fort Lauderdale Air Show each May.
About the Gardens
Surrounded by natural beauty, this 1920s retreat brings the outdoors in, encircling a courtyard with tropical flora.
Outside the walls of the home are a desert garden with exotic succulents; a native tropical hammock with tall gumbo-limbo, sea grape, and paradise trees.
There is an orchid house featuring whatever is in bloom from the Bartlett collection of more than 3,000 plants.
Once you complete a tour of the home, you are welcome to roam the grounds at your leisure and relax in the garden spaces.
Watch for the roaming bands of monkeys in the trees!
Explore More!
Visit nearby Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park Amid a tropical forest near the Atlantic Ocean, Hugh Taylor Birch State Park is the former estate of Chicago attorney Hugh Taylor Birch, stretching to the Intracoastal Waterway.Slideshow
See our photos from the Bonnet House
Nearby Adventures
Secret Woods Nature Center Designated the first “urban wilderness area” in Florida in 1978, Secret Woods protects a 56-acre floodplain of cypress strand and mangroves with uplands of tropical hammock.
Fern Forest Nature Center A bounty of ferns awaits where three miles of trails introduce you to a slice of Florida’s past, a tropical forest surrounding the original floodplain of Cypress Creek near Fort Lauderdale.
Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park With its shores dwarfed at times by the giant cruise ships steaming in and out of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Dr. Von D. Mizell-Eula Johnson State Park is well-known as a great nearshore dive spot.
Anne Kolb Nature Center Whether a five-level observation tower or at ground level with the land crabs, Anne Kolb Nature Center focuses on the urban mangrove forest that it protects and interprets.
- Michael Crotty Bicentennial Park - November 3, 2026
- A.J. Henry Park - November 1, 2026
- Okeeheelee Nature Center Trails - October 22, 2026